Prejudice and Discrimination (VL 9)

Question 1

Predudice - Definition

Answer 1

• Prejudice affects everyone
• Prejudice is dangerous and fostering negative consequences from lowered self-esteem to genocide
• Prejudice is an attitude about a social group which might be expressed in behavior as discrimination

Question 2

Outgroup homogeneity effect

Answer 2

Always see other groups as being similar, but see differences in your own group

Question 3

Components of Prejudice

Answer 3

• Prejudice (affective)
• Stereotypes (cognitive)
• Discrimination (behavioral)

Question 4

Prejudice (affective)

Answer 4

• A hostile or negative attitude towards a group of people, based only on their membership in that group
• Prejudice goes against the group as a whole and ignores distinguishing characteristics (of the members)

Question 5

Stereotypes (cognitive)

Answer 5

• Generalization about a group of people
• Identical characteristics are assigned to all members of the group (regardless of actual variation)
• Can be positive and are not necessarily emotionally laden and therefore do not necessarily lead to discrimination

Question 6

Discrimination (behavioral)

Answer 6

Unjustified negative or harmful action towards a member of a group, simply because of the membership in that group

Question 7

Prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory behavior

Answer 7

• Legislation and social disapproval inhibit extreme expressions of prejudice
• Prejudice is more difficult to detect when expressed in covertly or restricted contexts
• Prejudice may almost go unnoticed, imbedded in everyday assumptions, language and discourse
• The context and economic situation can have an effect on prejudice, sexism, …

Question 8

Bystander apathy paradigm (Gaertner and Dovidio)

Answer 8

Participants help black victim when there are no other potential helpers, but they are less likely to offer help when there are other potential helpers

Question 9

Symbolic racism

Answer 9

Reflects the false beliefs that

• Discrimination is no longer an obstacle
• Blacks don’t make enough of an effort to help themselves
• Demands for special treatment by Blacks are unwarranted (unberechtigt)

Symbolic racism is correlated with old-fashioned prejudice

Question 10

Aversive racism

Answer 10

Results from support for racial equality but still having negative feelings towards blacks

• Leads whites to avoid blacks because they feel ashamed of having negative feelings and allows them to protect their self-image as unprejudiced
• May allow whites to discriminate against Blacks when there is a plausible non-racist justification for their actions

Question 11

Implicit stereotypes

Answer 11

Are automatically activated, without awareness of their influence
- Measurement: Words are categorized as positive or negative, and if the response is quicker if you see a black face and afterwards the word lazy, this indicates an implicit stereotype (or white face and intelligent)

Question 12

Victims of prejudice and discrimination may suffer…

Answer 12

• material and psychological disadvantage
• low self-esteem
• stigma
• depressed aspirations
• physical and verbal abuse

Question 13

Pygmalion effect/Self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 13

Elementary children that are said to be bloomers (although randomly selected) have a higher IQ gain as students who are said to be non-bloomers  the positive assessment is confirmed

Question 14

Explanations of prejudice and discrimination

Answer 14

• Reaction to frustrated goals  aggression is vented onto weaker groups
• Abnormal behavior expressed by people who have developed generally prejudiced personalities, perhaps as a consequence of their social environment (that encourages prejudice)
• Perceived competition for material goods
• Relative deprivation (Mangel, Verlust)
• Intergroup anxiety
• Authoritarianism
• Social dominance orientation
• Mass Media
• Nationalism
• No contact